Synopsis:
Peter began his career building his own business from start-up to $50m in international sales, and subsequent trade-sale, which made money for investors. Staff and revenues grew by 100% in each of the last five years before exit. Since then, he has founded several businesses, continuing his career as an active entrepreneur.
Peter has worked for twenty years as an adviser to investors and boards, owners and entrepreneurs in businesses undergoing rapid change from rescue and turn-around to growth.
Bio:
Peter worked as an acoustics designer, for the great Ken Shearer who had designed the famous saucers at the Albert Hall. After working on several recording studios with Ken, including Apple at Saville Row, Peter joined the London music recording industry in the early 1970s, working for George Martin at AIR Studios and then The Bron Organisation, designing studios for them and Vangelis, Freddie Starr, Manfred Mann, The Kinks, and others.
Many hit records have been recorded in his studios and control rooms by artists such as Kiki Dee, Cliff Richard, Roy Wood, Marc Bolan Stevie Wonder, Queen, Rod Stewart, America, Manfred Mann, Mott the Hoople, Tony Ashton, Jim Capaldi, Gene Pitney, Leo Sayer, and Roxy Music, with Peter often working on the sessions.
In the late 1970s, Peter moved on to designing innovative electronic equipment for the music business, and developed a unique cordless sound system for musicians in recording studios, for which he holds a patent.
He founded the software house, Redwood International, in the early 1980s which became the largest software product company in Britain, selling $50m a year around the world, with over a million users. By the 1990s, the company had nearly 300 employees in twelve offices on four continents, and made the majority of its sales in the USA to major corporations and the Federal Government through five offices, coast to coast. The business was funded by venture capital, and five rounds were raised in total. In the last five years, the company grew by over 100% each year, and grew profit per employee at the same time. Peter successfully secured an exit for shareholders by trade sale in 1991.
During the 1990s, Peter qualified to fly helicopters, and was type rated on the Robinson R22 and Bell JetRanger. He owned a 1981 airframe, high skid JetRanger for several years, registration G-SIZL. He now sometimes flies radio controlled model helicopters because it’s far more difficult to do.
Peter developed his skills and career through his involvement in a number of businesses, working as adviser and interim. In 2000, Peter worked with the Advantage Technology Fund, an early-stage investor whose investing partners were 3i, the Royal Bank of Scotland, EEF, and the EU, and made eleven investments for the Fund during 2001. Adding two later stints in venture capital gave him valuable experience that has combined with his entrepreneurial background to give Peter an insight into venture capital investing from both points of view.
He was chairman of Reveal Media for thirteen years working alongside the founder CEO Alasdair Field, growing the annual revenues from £100,000 to £14mn. The firm specialises in high quality body cameras for all types of operational policing and security, and has a global customer base among premier organisations.
He now concentrates on his own business ventures, especially PlannedData, as well as advising high growth and technology businesses, often backed by venture capital, particularly at true start-up, go-to-market, scale-up and exit stages.
